The official 2017 Preakness Stakes Draw occurred on Wednesday night and instantly created some nice drama. Classic Empire and Always Dreaming drew posts adjacent to one another and will kickoff the second leg of the Triple Crown from the middle gates. It’ll be an instant battle between the two.

The oddsmakers, however, don’t see it that way. Always Dreaming has opened as a solid 4/5 favorite, with Classic Empire coming in as the overall second choice with 3/1 odds of his own. The two may feel close on the betting line, but it’s obvious that the talent gap between the two is enormous. Always Dreaming has been on skates while everyone else has been grinding hard to keep up.

Lookin At Lee, who startled everyone by running second in the Kentucky Derby was assigned the ninth post and is a solid 10/1 third choice overall.

The fourth choice in this race is Cloud Computing, who will come out of the second post following the 2017 Preakness Stakes draw. With 12/1 odds, he’s a far cry from the two leaders but it’s an interesting decision to place him in such high order. The three-year-old colt out of Chad Brown’s camp hasn’t won a stakes affair yet. He finished third in the Wood Memorial and second in the Gotham. There’s no evidence that he’s a true two-turner.

I expect Conquest Mo Money to shade in to the third choice spot by the time the race opens. He had the unfortunate pull of the outside gate in the 2017 Preakness Stakes draw, but that might not be a death sentence given his overall speed. In the Arkansas Derby, he nearly held off Classic Empire. With rested legs he might get the job done at Pimlico.

Joining him with similar odds is Gunnevera, who took seventh in the Kentucky Derby after finishing a distant third to Always Dreaming. The fact that he’s so far behind the leaders should be indicative of how much of a two-horse race this actually is.

The rest of the longshots include Multiplier, Hence, Term of Art and Senior Investment.